Seedna are an atmospheric black metal band from Sweden. This is their third album.
I like music like this; some of my favourite albums are those where it sounds as if the band are taking the listener on a journey, and Forlorn is very much a release like this.
Seedna play atmospheric black metal that’s big on emotional content and Continue reading “Seedna – Forlorn (Review)”
Astral Path are an atmospheric Black Metal band from Canada. This is their début album.
This is the kind of modern, expansive Black Metal that so many bands seem to do so well these days. If you’re a fan of bands like Wolves in the Throne Room, Chaos Moon, Midnight Odyssey, Krallice, Mare Cognitum, Deafheaven and their ilk, then you should also like this.
Astral Path’s music combines this type of stargazing, cosmic Black Metal with ambient soundscapes to create atmospheric Black Metal that seems to roll out of the speakers in a pool of spectral fog. Continue reading “Astral Path – An Oath to the Void (Review)”
Sacrilegium are a Polish Black Metal band and this is their second album.
This is sophisticated Black Metal that shrouds itself in occult auras and mystical vibes.
Sacrilegium have produced an album that has a very modern feel, but nonetheless knows where it came from and pays its dues accordingly. With elements of the atmospheric and progressive styles entwined in its dark embrace, Anima Lucifera blasts and pummels its way through its playing time with style and panache. Continue reading “Sacrilegium – Anima Lucifera”
This is the second album from this one-man US atmospheric Post-Black Metal band.
This has a rich, warm sound, making it clear very early on that Entropy is all about the emotive content and taking the listener on a journey.
High-pitched near-static screams are employed to provide a focal point for the colourful music. I favour this brand of ultra-shrieked screams for this kind of extremely atmospheric Black Metal, so was not disappointed to hear them when they first appeared. Deep growls also appear here and there; these are unexpected but work well alongside the mellifluous music.
These songs have a good grasp of mood and feeling, effortlessly played out across long tracks and glorious soundscapes. This can be essentially seen as one 72 minute piece of music broken up into smaller slices, but however you look at it it’s an extremely effective work.
Featuring elements of psychedelic, progressive and depressive Black Metal, this is very atmospheric and richly textured. Resplendent melodies, extended guitar solos and understated synths all enhance the flavour of the emotive riffs and Entropy is an album to be savoured and enjoyed in its entirety.
I’m very impressed by this, and it’s criminal that this will effectively get no real exposure other than a few lucky people that stumble upon it; it really is that good.
This is the latest EP from Chaos Moon, who are a US Black Metal band.
Having previously enjoyed their 2014 album Resurrection Extract, this is a re-released version of their 2015 EP of the same name, with two extra tracks added on for a total running time of 44 minutes spread out over 6 songs.
Chaos Moon’s music is atmospheric and raw, with elements of Shoegaze and Dark Ambient. Theirs is Black Metal with character and a grimy, occult lustre that marks them out as something a bit special.
Obscure melodies and sinister vibes are never too far from the blackened action, and the relatively subtle keyboards are artfully hidden just the right amount behind hateful distortion, which allows them to come to the fore when the guitars are absent.
My favourite track is probably the title, (and opening), song Amissum. It’s one of the bonus tracks and is a seething mass of blackened bile and repressed atmosphere. It’s an impressive piece of music and as the newest song here it bodes well for their upcoming album.
The rest of the music here is no disappointment, mind, with the remaining songs showcasing the band’s mix of aggression, mood and blackened sensibilities. Each track has something a little different to offer the listener and taken as a whole it’s a very well-rounded package.
Overall the band’s songwriting is suitably strong, and Chaos Moon are definitely improving over time. This latest release keeps up their high quality levels and exceeds them in some ways, producing an album-length EP that is extremely enjoyable indeed.
Highly recommended.
Ande is a Black Metal solo project from Belgium. This is his début release.
With each song separated by a short atmospheric interlude, we get three actual songs that evoke the original Black Metal template with a atmospheric and emotive sheen.
The music has good riffs, good atmosphere and tasty screams. It’s a short but enjoyable release that lets the listener wallow in the blackened depths of an atavistic style.
Old-school and obscure, this will likely be overlooked by most fans of the style, which is a real shame as Licht is an extremely satisfying listen. This strikes all of the right notes and moods without feeling stale or done-to-death.
The songs have a relatively good degree of variety between them and the interludes all work well to provide an unusual atmosphere between the blackened abysses that the songs create. I prefer the slower, more atmospheric sections over the faster ones, but the faster ones are still very well done.
The recording is well pitched, with just the right mixture of clarity and rawness that a release like this deserves.
I really enjoyed this.
Morth is a one-man Black Metal band from Bulgaria. This is his début album.
This album has plenty of occult melodies for the listener to enjoy. Sometimes these melodies can seem quite jaunty or folksy, which is a nice touch among the overall darkened vibes that Morth creates.
The long songs have an epic feel and there’s plenty of atmosphere to soak up here. The music is expansive and seems to revel in a certain primitive sophistication that some of the early Black Metal bands found themselves experimenting with. It’s the kind of music that makes me feel nostalgic and never fails to raise a grim smile.
Synths and keyboards are never too far from the action, wrapping the twisting melodies in their dark embrace.
Vocally we get trademark Black Metal croaking screams that fit the music perfectly. These vocals are absolutely of the classic style and go hand in hand with the classic atmospheric music.
This is well-constructed atmospheric Black Metal with a nice line in melodies and uplifting leads and synths.
Very enjoyable.
Frozen Ocean is a one-man Russian Melodic/Atmospheric Black Metal band and this is his latest EP.
Frozen Ocean return with more wonderfully melodic Black Metal that creates plenty of atmosphere. I have previously reviewed The Dyson Swarm, so this new release was most welcome.
This is mellifluous, melodic music that’s enhanced by keyboards to greater heights of atmosphere and mood. The feeling, for me, is very much one of following in the great Windir’s footsteps,
Vocals are deeper screams than are normally associated with the style, giving the polished, shiny music a rougher edge of aggression that suits it.
Grand, epic and richly melodic, (have I mentioned that?), this is a very enjoyable EP that it’s easy to like.
Check it out.
Old Forest are a Black Metal band from the UK and this is their third album.
This album features four long songs and a fair amount of variety across the 48 minute playing time. The band play Atmospheric Black Metal that has a contemporary feel with nods towards the Pagan, Folk, Gothic, Depressive and Progressive sub-genres of Black Metal.
These additional influences make their presence felt during the tracks and manifest in different ways, from exploratory sections, to enhancing cleans, to Folk instrumentation, subtle synths, and more.
It’s a hugely impressive demonstration of musical ability and songwriting skill; even only a couple of minutes into the first track Morwen, with its Doom-laden intro and understated-yet-powerful cleans, you know this is going to be a special release.
The songs have a lot of content, all contained in a modern Black Metal wrapping and serviced by a recording that’s meaty enough to do the material justice without loosing its Blackened lustre.
The emotive guitars do everything requested of them with ease, whether this is playing fast, slow, or even at a good rocking pace. The guitars serve as a bedrock for the other instruments to be built around, both the standard ones such as the drums and bass, and the non-standard ones that serve to add so much additional atmosphere to the tracks.
Vocals are as varied and interesting as the music; Blackened screams, Gothic cleans and lots in the middle.
Old Forest have produced a very gratifying release that manages to successfully combine old and new into a cohesive atmospheric package. Dagian is impressive, emotive and destined for a lot of positive feedback I would imagine.
For any fans of expressive Atmospheric Black Metal.
This is the third album by Swedish Black Metallers Mephorash.
Throughout the four extended tracks on this release Mephorash demonstrate their approach to elite, sophisticated Black Metal art. Theirs is Black Metal that conjures effective atmospheres without neglecting the rest of the music; the band have both heaviness and bite to them when they need it.
Managing to create music that’s both resplendent and uplifting as well as drenched in the occult and mysterious is no mean feat, but this album manages to juxtapose those two aspects of Black Metal quite nicely.
The band fuse the style’s core delivery with influences from Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal to create a contemporary spin on the genre that nonetheless has all of the essential elements in place to produce something both recognisable and special.
Featuring all kinds of additional enhancements, (keyboards, choral singing, guest vocalists), that work well within the music to add layers of depth to it, these songs are strong exemplars of the style of Black Metal that bands like Watain/Deathspell Omega pioneered so well.
There’s a vibrant unlife pulsing through these songs and they bristle with dark energy. It’s a joy to hear and the strong production allows them the space to do what they do unfettered.
Mephorash have created something really impressive with this album and I know I’ll be listening to it and trying to unravel its dark secrets for some time to come.
Wonderbox Metal 